Harsh Reality
by Moonpattern
Summary: Post Snakes, what happened next
1. Default Chapter

Fic Title: Post Snakes ( 2500 Words)

Author: Moonpattern

Fandom: CSI

Pairing: Grissom/Sara

Date: January 2005

Feedback: I'll take feedback

Rating: R

Disclaimer: ("This is not meant to be taken as true, I make no $$$ . . .")

Summary: Post snakes, what happened after "the talk"

Dedications: Princessgrits for putting up with me and my creative ideas and helping me to put them on to paper.

Sara let out the breath she was holding as she walked out of Grissom's office. _Don't _

_Come after me don't come after me_ she thought as she walked down the hall far away from

Grissom's office and Grissom She quickened her pace until she found the solitude of the ladies room. Sara sat down counter and put her head in her hands. _That was harder than I thought it would be. What were you thinking Sara? Breathe, try not to hyperventilate, you did it, you told him how you feel. _She shook her head self-talk was something her PEAP counsellor had taught her as a way to validate her behavior with self-praise. She wiped her face off and left the washroom. She didn't want to run into anyone, it was time for her to go home. She had worked a double on the previous case and she was spent, but she couldn't leave until she had spoken to Grissom, with that done she could go home.

The drive was quick, quicker than it should have been; she just hoped that she didn't get pulled over for speeding, not after her recent DUI. Sara didn't want to fall asleep at the wheel; luckily she was on a small adrenaline high after her talk with Grissom. She parked her car and immediately went into her apartment. She quickly divested herself of clothes and crawled into the cool of her bed. She was so tired, she looked at the clock, and it was only just after midnight.

_"Got a minute."_

_  
__ "Sure."_

_  
__ "We haven't had a chance to talk since the staff changes. I__  
__wanted to let you know that I said some things to Ecklie that might__  
__have done the team a disservice."_

_  
__"Ecklie wanted to break up the team, and he did."_

_  
__"He asked me if you and I had had our post PEAP counselling session."_

_  
__"And we didn't. Regardless, you should never have to cover for your__  
__boss. I'm sorry."_

_  
__"You've always been a little more than a boss to me. Why do you think__  
__I moved to Vegas?"_

_"Look, I know our relationship has been complicated. It's probably my__  
__fault. It's probably definitely my your counselling, right?"_

_  
__"Yeah. Yes."_

_  
__"And?"_

_  
__"Let's just say that...I sometimes look for validation in inappropriate places."_

_"Look, let's, uhm..." _

_  
__"It's okay. Okay. You know what, we did our session. Don't forget to__  
__document this for Ecklie."_

_  
__"Right."_

_  
__"Thanks."_

Sara tried to shake of the events of earlier that evening, the conversation just kept replaying in her head. _Shake it off Sidle you need some sleep, you did your part. _She eventually willed herself to sleep.

Gil Grissom sat in his office completely confused by what had happened earlier. _She thinks of me more than a boss, what a friend? More? She could have been clearer. Does she think of me more than that? Who are you kidding, Gil, she asked you out, of course she thinks of you more than that. She told you it might be too late, was that her way of finishing that off, ending it with you? She came to Vegas for you, she told you that; the least you can do is be honest with her. Validation in inappropriate places? What did she mean by that? With me? _ Grissom was completely confused.

The thoughts were spinning in his head; he could feel a migraine coming on. He took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

_"You've always been a little more than a boss to me. Why do you think__  
__I moved to Vegas?"_

He overanalysed the statement and didn't make any more sense of it. The statement kept running through his head, over and over again. He kept replaying the whole ordeal in his head. It made him come to a quick decision. He grabbed his keys, shut off his light and left the lab. When he looked up he was at the pub on the strip. He drove on autopilot without any recollection as to how he had got there. He did that sometimes, just got in his truck and drove without a purpose. He went in and sat down to have a drink, one lead to two and so on until he was completely inebriated with the empty bottle sitting on the table in front of him. Grissom picked up his phone and dialled a familiar friend.

"Brown."

"Warrick, Its Grissom." His works were bordering on slurred.

"Griss, man have you been drinking?"

"I'm drunk." He said abruptly.

"What can I do for you man?"

"Can you take a cab and come to the pub on the strip. Don't tell anyone where you are going, I'll explain when you get here."

Within the half hour Warrick had joined Grissom at the table.

"Sara came into my office when shift started, it was her night off. I'm so confused. I think I lost my chance. I don't know what to do." He picked up the empty bottle and looked at it and then looked at the empty glass.

"The answer isn't in the bottom of that bottle, Griss." Warrick said jokingly..

"I know, but I had no where else to turn."

Alcohol shouldn't be a crutch."

"Sounds like something I should be saying to you." Grissom laughed lightly.

"You need to get out of here, you have had enough to drink. Want me to take you home?"

"No. Take my truck and drop me off at Sara's. Go back to the lab, tell them I wasn't feeling well, I had a migraine and you took me home." _He wasn't that far off, he did have a migraine before he started drinking. He was sure he would have another one tomorrow after all the alcohol he had pounded back._

"Griss, I don't think this is a good idea."

"Probably not, but you aren't going to change my mind. I need to do this before I lose my nerve."

"But you are drunk man."

"I know."

"Alright, we're here." They pulled into Sara's apartment complex and Warrick shut off his engine. He wasn't sure that he should be leaving Grissom at Sara's especially in his current state.

"Griss, are you positive you want to be here? I mean I wouldn't want to piss off Sara, she is licensed to operate a weapon."

"Yes. I'll be alright." _What are you doing? Are you sure you want to be here?_ He took in a deep breath and got out and headed for her door. Warrick backed out of the parking lot and left.

He gently began rapping on the door. No answer. _She must be sleeping._ _Call her Gil, before you lose your nerve._ He picked up his phone and dialled her number. She answered on the first ring.

"Sidle."

"Sara, did I wake you?"

"Yes. What's wrong Griss, why are you here, did something happen at work?"

"I need to talk to you, please get up and let me in."

"Griss, why are you at my door? " He heard the locks click and the door open.

"Sara, can I come in?"

She held the door open and he entered. She shut the door and locked it behind him. He looked up at her. "Habits. Have you been drinking you smell like alcohol?"

He nodded. He was silent at first.

"How much have you had to drink?" She got up and got him some Tylenol and water and gave it to him. "Are you gonna talk to me or would you just rather sit her while I sleep in the other room?"

"I've had enough to drink, probably too much to drink, but I needed to get some nerve up in order to come here, liquid courage, right" He chuckled lightly. "Sara, tell me one thing." He stood up and took her hand in his.

"What's that?"

"What did you mean today in my office?"

"Exactly what I said."

"So you think of me more than a boss, how much more?"

Sara was silent and looked at the carpet like she was inspecting a piece of evidence.

"Am I too late?" He leaned in to kiss her, just barely brushing her lips.

" You taste like Whiskey." She murmured. "If you were too late, I wouldn't have said what I did earlier." She kissed him back and pulled away quickly. "Griss, you're drunk, I don't want you to think I took advantage of you." She giggled like a giddy schoolgirl. "I don't want you waking up tomorrow and regretting anything."

"I won't, I promise. Please Sara," He pleaded.

She only had a nightshirt. He could see right through it and it only reached her upper thigh. He was drinking in her lovely long legs. She took him by the hand and led him to her bedroom. She reached up and pulled his shirt out from his waistband. She pulled the offending article up over hiss head. She fooled with his belt and undid his pants and fooled with the waistband on his boxers. He sucked in a breath as she touched his skin. Her nightshirt accompanied his clothes in the pile on the floor. He ran his hands up her sides and she shivered lightly. They rest on the bed and she began to feel the warm skin of his chest against her naked body. _So that's what you feel like. _His muscles were firm, firmer than she had expected. He was well built for a man his age She added her lips into the equation she longed to taste him. He softly growled. She rose up and kissed him again, more fierce than before as she moaned into his mouth. He rolled her under him to take the lead.

He placed soft wet kisses on her neck and throat and then he suckled her breast into his mouth. Sara gasped and he moved on to the other one, she was whimpering and begging him not to stop.

"Ooh Griss….uum."

He dragged his tongue down her flat belly and gently traced the indent where her belly button was hidden. Sara arched her back and moaned. He gently sucked in a breath and breathed it out on her soft center. She squirmed. He dropped his head between her legs and traced circles on her thighs with his tongue. He dove in to her core with his tongue. He could hear Sara muttering something but went back to what he was doing, pleasing her. He arched one finger and slipped it inside her, she bucked and her walls closed tightly around him. She reached for his soft curls and began to play with his hair. She loved the way it felt. She loved the way he felt.

He picked his head up and looked her in the eyes. He loved her eyes. Dark chocolate pools of warmth longing for him to touch her. She smiled and he pushed up to kiss her lovingly.

"I can taste myself." She purred between kisses.

"Umm, I love the way you taste." He growled back at her.

"Griss, will you please make love to me?"

"I have been, Sara."

"No, I want to feel you inside of me, offering yourself to me."

She passed him a condom from her bedside drawer and he sheathed himself with the latex shield. He pushed himself up on her. She arched her hips to meet him. They were in unison, moving together with perfect symmetry. It was a tangle of sweat, hair and body fluids. They lay spent on the bed, curled up in each other's arms. Their breathing evened out and they both fell asleep.

The mid-afternoon sun was breaking through the curtains they both began to stir. He was overwhelmed by the constant pounding in his head and he felt something warm beside him. He looked down and saw her brown eyes looking back at him.

"Morning." She choked out.

"I think it's more like afternoon." He added. "Do you have anymore of that Tylenol you gave to me lastnight?"

"Are you hung over, Griss?" She taunted.

"Yes."

She got up and returned within minutes with two more pills and another glass of water. "Sara, er um er."

"Griss don't talk."

He swallowed the pills and she crawled back into bed with him. She snuggled up with him again, sucking in his warmth.

"Are we ok?"

"I just want you to hold me for a while, we'll talk later." He obliged and wrapped his arms around her and took in the scent of her hair.

They woke up a few hours later; the pain in his head had finally subsided. He nuzzled his lips into her neck as began to place warm kisses on her neck. She rolled over to look at him with a smile on her face.

"You feel better?"

"Umm, much."

"You know, I could get used to this. Lying in my bed in your arms."

"I would like nothing more."

Sara propped herself up on her arms and looked him in the face. "Are we ok?"

"I think we are."

"What about work?"

"We'll deal with work later."

"NO. We have to go to work, look at the time."

It was nearly seven pm and they spent all day in bed together. They were usually at work by now. Grissom had to get a ride with Sara. He only had his clothes from the night before. Sara grabbed a change of clothes and threw them in a bag. She pulled on a pair of sweats and a t-shirt and accompanied him to his townhouse.

The house was just as she remembered. He had books everywhere and bug specimens. Very Grissom-like. It was his retreat. He went straight to his room to find some clothes and Sara continued to look around. The last time she was here was a while ago, when Grissom got suspended because he didn't want her to go undercover. She traced the outline of the books on the bookshelf.

"Sara, you want to join me in the shower?"

She followed him to the bathroom. It was a huge room, way too big for one person. It was nearly as big as her whole apartment. It had tile on the walls, two sinks on the counter and a whirlpool tub in the corner. The shower was large enough to comfortably accommodate both of them. He grabbed the sponge and began to soap up her back. He turned her around and soaped up her front.

"Don't start something you can't finish, we haven't got time." She took the sponge away from him and finished washing herself up. She washed his back and passed the sponge back to him. She rinsed herself off and got out of the shower. He finished up and found her in the bedroom. She was dressed and running a brush through her hair. He quickly got himself dressed and they headed to the lab.

They entered the lab together and it seemed as though all eyes were on them. He quickly went to his office to get the assignment slips and went to the break room to pass them out. _It's going to be a rough night._ He thought as he passed out the assignments.


	2. Ch 2

Sara was all smiles for the whole night, she was relieved that Grissom put her with Greg to work; he would ask the fewest questions. She was happy with what happened, all the events from the day before only made her smile larger, if that was possible.

They were assigned a d.b. in the dessert, which wasn't a strange thing for Vegas, they usually got at least one a day. Sara picked away gathering evidence, Greg was doing the same, and she was really pleased at how well Greg was actually doing. She took some of the credit for him being good; she was somewhat of a mentor to him.

"So Saraaaaaa," Greg began, "what has you so happy tonight?"

"What are you talking about Greg?"

"Well, for starters, this the happiest I have seen you in ……years, yes years. Second, you have that smile that is worth a million bucks plastered on your face and to top it off, you have one of those I just got laid glows. How did I do? Gonna tell me who it is? Huh?"

Sara was noticeably embarrassed. "Good investigation skills, Greg, but you are a bit off. I'm just happy, isn't that allowed?"

"Its great you are happy, Sara, I mean that, but he had better not hurt you again or he will have to answer to me." Greg puffed out his chest to prove his point.

Sara chuckled lightly, "I'm flattered you care, Greg, but I'm a big girl, I'll be ok."

"So who is it? Are you gonna tell me?"

"No."

"Aw man." He whined.

"Greg, give it up, we have work to do."

"Party pooper."

Sofia was working with Grissom. He had wanted to work with Sara, but he felt it would be in their own best interest no to, he needed to learn to control himself at work and he didn't know how good his control was going to be at work.

Sofia was doing her usual casual flirting with Grissom, with one difference, he wasn't responding one bit. She tried her best with no avail. This did not make Sofia happy, seemed that she was used to getting a response out of her flirting.

"Grissom, will you come look at this, I'm not sure what it is?" Sofia asked Grissom to come over so he would be near to her.

"Can you move please Sofia, I can't quite see what is under the scope." The look on Sofia's face was priceless. It was cold enough to freeze ice.

"So what is it Grissom?" Sofia began. She knew what it was, she just wanted a ploy to get him near her, and it didn't work.

"Sofia, it's a Kleenex," his tone bordered on disgusted. "What significance does this have on our case?"

"It was on the Vic's person, I thought it may have some evidence on it we could use."

"It is probably just a snot-rag, may have some DNA, but we already Id'ed the Vic based on the Id in his wallet. Send it to trace and see what they can find." He slipped his glasses on and left the room.

What was Sofia doing? I may need to have a talk with her too. I don't need her and Sara in a catfight over me. The last remark made him smile. 

Walking down the hall he ran into Sara and Greg, Greg automatically noticed the grin on his face. "Jeez Boss, what has you so happy? If I didn't know better I'd think that you and Sara have been spending time together." Greg shook the thought off and walked to the trace lab to hand in their evidence.

Sara looked at Grissom, "Wouldn't he like to know." She whispered.

"Sara, can I see you in my office please?" Grissom asked.

"Certainly." She smiled and followed him.

Grissom allowed Sara to enter the office first and shut the door behind him. He grabbed her arms and pinned them to the wall and ferociously began kissing her. Sara pulled away quickly.

"Griss, we can't do this…. not here"

"I couldn't help it, I found myself constantly thinking about you, I wanted to kiss you so bad and when I saw you I couldn't hold it in any longer."

"This isn't appropriate for work, you need to learn restraint." She joked.

"I know, but you gotta know you drive me wild."

"I know!" She grinned, "But you can save that for when we get home, its not long now, your place or mine?"

"How about mine?" He added with his hand on the door.

"Sounds good, I'm dying to use that big bathtub of yours."

"Alone?"

"Unless you want to join me." She looked at him seductively and left. "I'm going to grab something to eat in the break room, you coming?"

"In a minute."

There was enough tension in the break room that you could have shaved it with an ice pick. Sara walked in and she picked up on it immediately. Greg cracked her a 'thank God you are here to rescue me' smile and she knew something was up. She walked in, opened the fridge to remove her sprout sandwich and carrot sticks and sat down to eat.

"God Sara, how can you eat that stuff?" Greg asked munching on his rather large roast beef sandwich.

"The same way you eat that crap, Greg."

Sara looked over at Sofia. "Is something bothering you Curtis?"

"No. Why do you ask?"

"You seem oddly quiet is all."

"Guess I didn't get enough sleep."

Sara left it at that. She turned around to see Grissom walk into the break room.

"Jeez, Griss, we never see you in here except to pass out assignments, what do we owe the pleasure?" Greg asked.

"I just thought I'd join you, is that allowed or would you prefer I go back to my office to eat my lunch?"

"That depends," Sara, jested, "What are you eating, it doesn't include bugs…does it?"

"Lasagne, why?"

"With bugs?"

"No, do you eat bugs in yours Sara?"

"No, but I'm not an entomologist nor am I a carnivore, I'll bet there is meat in there too, isn't there?"

"Actually, no, I grabbed the wrong one by accident." He popped it in the microwave, "In actual fact, the vegetarian one isn't half bad." Sara smiled. The room got colder, Sofia got a look at the smile that Sara shot Grissom.

"So Greg," Sara began, "what do we have for evidence?"

"A few fibres, some hairs, really…not much. We have to wait for the DNA results to go any further. What do you suggest we do now?"

"We could go see if Griss and Sofia need a hand."

"Sounds good," he said as he got off the stool to accompany Sara to find Grissom.

Grissom and Sofia were going over their evidence with a fine toothcomb when Sara and Greg walked in. "You guys need a hand?"

"No, I think we are alright. Why don't you and Greg head home early."

"Are you sure?"

"Yep, we got it under control, shift is nearly over."

"If you are sure, then we'll go."

Greg let out a squeal, "I love being a CSI. No more long hours in the lab, we get off early."

"I don't do this often Greg." Grissom deadpanned. "Don't get used to it."

Greg took that and left. Sara waited around for a few seconds for Grissom to look at her.

"Sara, could I see you for a second?" Sofia looked up from her evidence. "Outside." Sara followed him out into the hall. "There is a spare key in my locker on the shelf, take it. Go grab a few things from your place and meet me at mine at end of shift." Sara smiled and left for the locker room.

Grissom rejoined Sofia in the evidence room. "So is Sidle in trouble, or something?" She asked.

"That is none of your concern, Sofia. Why don't you finish up here? I have paper work to do." He left a stunned Sofia to work while he retreated to his office.

Sara pranced into the locker room and looked around to make sure no one was around before she opened Grissom's locker. She opened the door and retrieved the key. Slipping it quickly into her pocket she took out a piece of paper to leave him a note.

_Griss_

_Give me a call before you head home, please; I want to be ready for you._

_Sara._

She placed it on the shelf where he would see it and headed for home.

She was just pulling into his parking lot when he called. "Sidle."

"Sara, you asked me to call."

"I guess you got my note."

"Yes, I'm on my way home."

She hung up the phone and headed for the house. Sliding the key onto the lock and turning it was a bit odd for Sara. If you had told her even a month ago she would be doing this she would have told you that you were right out of it, but this was real.

She put the key down and locked the door behind her. Placing her purse on the table by the door she slipped out of her shoes. She put her bag down in the bedroom and went to the bathtub to run some water. She grabbed her favorite bubble bath from her bag and graciously added it to the flowing water. The sweet scent of Vanilla and Strawberries wafted from the bubbles. She began to undress and hummed a tune as she did so. She turned around and screamed.

"Grissom! You nearly scared the shit out of me. I wanted to surprise you with a bath."

Looking at her now naked form he grinned, "This is surprise enough."

"Are you gonna join me, there is room, this thing is huge."

He disrobed and they climbed into the bathtub together. He turned the jets on and they both sat back to relax.

"So Griss, what was with Sofia lastnight? She was bitchier than usual."

"I think I pissed her off." He pulled Sara up so that she was on his chest. He leaned in to kiss her.

"How."

"I think she was trying to flirt with me and I ignored her advances, my mind was preoccupied." He kissed her again and Sara could hardly hide the grin on her face.

"Were you thinking about me?" She asked coyly as she kissed his neck.

"Who else?"

"Your other girlfriend?"

He lifted his brow and looked at her. "When would I have time for another girlfriend, you tire me out enough, I couldn't handle another."

Sara wrapped her legs around him in the huge bathtub and kissed him intensely. "You like this?" She asked.

"Umm." He mumbled.

She could feel his erection against her thigh. She lifted her rear and positioned herself on him. Wrapping her ankles together she rode him. He bucked his hips to her and she was completely in tune with him. She screamed at the intensity and released her ankles from around his back.

"Wow, that was intense." He breathed. "I don't recall ever doing that in a bath tub before."

Sara smiled and kissed him again. "Why don't we get out and head to the bedroom, we need some sleep, we both work tonight."

She got up and passed him a towel and wrapped one around herself and they went into the bedroom and collapsed onto the bed to sleep.


	3. ch 3

Sara walked into the lab with Grissom. She left her car there and she figured people would be talking. Walking down the hall people started whispering. It was no big surprise. This place was worse than high school at times. Sara walked along and entered into the break room to meet Greg and Sofia and Grissom went into his office to get the assignment slips.

Sofia looked at Sara with a cold stare. "So I hear you have a new beau Sara, I don't remember what they said his name was." Sofia switched in her seat. "The girls upstairs said they saw you get into a car with him this morning and that's why you left your car here."

Sara was silent. _New Beau? Wouldn't they laugh if they knew it was Grissom? They saw me get in a car with someone? I thought I was careful. Who would've saw me get in the car? I was sure no one was around.. She has got to be up to something I just must figure out what. _She thought hard before she spoke again. "Sofia my personal life is no business of yours, or this labs."

Sofia huffed as Grissom walked in. "So Grissom, do you know Sara has a new beau?"

The look on his face was near priceless. "Excuse me? Is this any of your business?"

"I just thought I would check out the accuracies of the rumor mill." Her tone was sour enough to curdle milk.

" They said Sara has a new beau and he picked her up this morning."

"Sofia, Sara's life nor anyone else's is any business of yours. I would appreciate it if you would keep any future rumors to yourself. Now if you don't mind, we have work to do, isn't that the reason we are here?" He snapped as he took the assignment slips out of his pocket. "Sofia, you and Greg have a smash and grab on the strip. Sara you are with me, we have a db."

"So because I decided to let you in on a little bit of gossip I'm being punished like a child." Sofia snarled.

"_If the shoe fits."_ Sara grumbled under her breath forcing a slight smile.

"Sofia, I don't know how things worked with Conrad as your boss, but this is my shift and I run it my way. I have never been known for my supervisory skills, but my team has the best solve rate at this lab so I must be doing something right, if you don't like it put in for a transfer, that would be sure to get the rumor mill churning." With that he turned to Sara. "C'mon Sara, we have a scene to process."

Sofia tried to hide her anguish from the words Grissom had just spoken. "C'mon Greg, we had better get to work."

The DB was pretty cut and dry, dead from asphyxia. The murder weapon was still around her neck. "Do you think this is a crime of passion?" Sara asked.

"Probably, it is in most cases, but we had better run the evidence before we make any hasty assumptions."

"Good idea. I just have a few more things to do and then we can head back to the lab."

"Ok. I'm gonna call Brass and see if he can check into the life of **Sandra Kempton** for us."

"Sandra Kempton? Is she our Vic?"

"Yup. I'll be right back."

True to his word, he returned almost immediately. "Griss, what was the deal with Sofia?"

"I'm not sure, Sara. She is definitely getting under my skin and if she keeps it up I will have to reprimand her."

"Isn't that a little harsh, Griss, I mean can't you just talk to her and see what her problem is?"

"With my oh-so-adequate social skills, Sara do you think that would help?" He jested.

She laughed and smiled in the same step. "I guess not, but you could ask Cath to intervene, she is a woman and she has some pretty good people skills."

"If it comes down to that, I hope the episode this evening knocked some sense into her."

"I wouldn't hold my breath on that one, Griss. One thing I do know is Sofia is stubborn."

"Is that a woman thing?"

"Yes." She giggled. "I guess you have a lot to learn." She turned to face him and he brushed his lips on hers. "I want you some bad right now, do you know that Sara." He whispered into her ear causing the hairs covering her body to stand at attention.

"I think I probably figured that out all by myself. I am an investigator after all. I get paid to follow clues."

He groaned into her neck, "You always were my star pupil."

"Griss, as much as I'm enjoying this, have you forgot that we're at a crime scene?"

"No, I didn't forget, I just lost control for a moment. We are alone, David won't be here for a few minutes, the officer is down stairs, and just let me kiss you, that's all I ask."

They were nose to nose. "As much as I long to touch you and for you to touch me." Her breath was hallowing. "I know this is our profession and we need to be professionals. If this is going to work, we have to separate Gil Grissom, Supervisor from Gil Grissom my boyfriend." _Boyfriend, she liked the sound of that. It made her smile. _"Besides if we start there is no sign saying we will be able to stop. We don't need to compromise our crime scene with our DNA." Sara chuckled at the thought of that.

He broke from her. "Sorry, Sara. I apologize for my behavior, maybe we shouldn't work together any more."

Sara pouted. "I think that is harsh, we just need to learn restraint. Take all that pent up frustration and put it to good use, between the sheets at home." She giggled like a teenager. "Besides, if you completely refuse to work with me that will send off some serious red flags. Do you need the rumor mill churning about you too?"

"Ok. You are right. Who'd a thought you would be the clear headed one. I guess that's why I love you so much. We had better head back to the lab." Sara smiled and followed him out of the house to head back to the lab. The drive was silent for the most part with intimate glances shared. They both needed to learn to detach from their private selves if this was going to work, especially at the lab where people get paid to uncover things.

Greg was less than enthused that he was stuck working with Sofia. She had been a bigger bitch than usual if the was humanly possible.

"So Greg, what do you think of Sara's new boyfriend?"

"I think it is her business. You don't even know if it is true Sofia and you are spreading it like peanut butter on toast." The Ex-Lab Rat was wound up. Sara was his friend and if someone was in her life and making her happy he was truly happy for her. A piece of his heart still held out hope she would turn to him, but he knew the probability was better for him to win the lottery or get struck by lightning. "Sofia." He paused. "I think you should stop this now before you get yourself written up by Grissom."

"Conrad will bail me out, I always knew how to keep him around my thumb." Her remark was snotty, like that of a child sassing her mother. Greg thought about what she divulged to him. _The rumors about Sofia and Ecklie may have been true. Could Sofia want Grissom now? Could that be what is causing this problem? _He vowed to get to the bottom of before it got too out of hand.


	4. ch 4

Jim Brass stood outside Sandra Kempton's mother's house. Sara and Grissom were coming up the walk to meet him. They knocked on the door and an older woman greeted them.

"Yes, is there something I can help you folks with?" The woman asked.

"Mrs. Kempton, I'm Jim Brass a homicide detective with the Las Vegas PD." She interrupted him.

"Homicide? Is it Sandy? Please God no, tell me it isn't Sandy." She was near hysterics.

Sara stepped forward and placed her hand on the woman's shoulder. "Mrs Kempton, I'm Sara Sidle, with the crime lab, I'm a CSI. I'm sorry, but we need to talk to you about Sandy, may we come in?"

She nodded choking back the tears and welcomed the trio into her home. She seated them on the couch.

"Mrs Kempton," Brass began. She interrupted once again.

"Please call me Mary."

"Alright, Mary, can you tell us a little about Sandy?"

"She was a good girl, really she was, she just got in with the wrong crowd, and they steered her wrong."

"Who is they?" Sara asked.

"That Jim guy, she was dating him I think."

"Miss, I mean Mary, I'm Gil Grissom, I'm a CSI too. Do you happen to have a last name on this Jim?"

"No. Sorry I don't I know he worked a the Tangiers I think, It was a casino."

"Is there anything else you can tell us about her?" Brass asked.

"I'm afraid not. We kinda drifted away from each other after Jim came into the picture."

"We're gonna need you to come down and ID the body, just to make sure it is her." Sara added. "You can come down in a few days if that would be easier."

The woman was choking back the tears. "We will let ourselves out, ok?" Sara added getting up from her seat. The woman nodded as she reached for a tissue.

Outside the door the two CSI's and Jim Brass conferred about what they had just been told and headed to the Tangiers. When they walked in the doors Sam Braun greeted them.

"What do I owe this pleasure? Did I do something wrong again?" Sam asked the trio.

"No. We need to ask you some questions about an employee of yours." Jim Brass piped in.

"Do you have anyone working for you named Jim?" Grissom asked.

"There are a few, what did he do?" Sam inquired.

"We are looking for a specific Jim, he used to date Sandra Kempton." Sara added.

"Sandy?"

"You knew her?" Brass added.

"She worked for me, she was a waitress, pretty thing." Sam added.

"So Sam." Brass started. "Who is Jim?"

"Jim Staples. He worked security for me."

"How long did he work for you Sam?"

"I don't know, a few months, maybe more."

"Do you know his whereabouts?" Grissom asked.

"He didn't come in to work today, I can get you his address though if you would like."

"That would be great." Sam left and returned in a few minutes with a piece of paper and handed it to Brass.

Sara and Grissom headed back to the lab to check out the database for anything on Jim Staples and see if they could get any prints off their evidence. Brass went to visit his residence.

When they got back to the lab they couldn't find Sofia or Greg. Grissom figured they must have been out on their case. They were printing the tie she was strangled with when Grissom's phone rang.

"Grissom"

"Gil, its Jim, you may want to come over here. Bring the crew with you." The line went dead.


	5. ch 5

"Sara, come on, we gotta go, Jim needs us."

"What happened?" She said getting up.

"Not sure, but it didn't sound good." He pulled his cell phone out again. "Wanna gall Greg? Its all hands on deck." Sara nodded.

Sara called Greg and Grissom Sofia and they all met at Jim Staples house. Sirens and onlookers wondering what was going on surrounded it. They met up with Brass immediately.

"Jim, what have we got?"

"DB, Jim Staples I assume, he is hanging from his closet bar by his belt. The house is a mess, its gonna take a while to process."

Grissom took the lead. "Alright Sara, you and Sofia take the body, process it so that we can decide if it was indeed a suicide, Greg and I will do the downstairs.

Sara took off upstairs with Sofia right behind her. Sara began to process the body and Sofia looked at her like she stole her property.

"Do you have a problem with me, Sofia?"

"No." She tested back to Sara.

"I think you do. What was with that rumor spiel this morning?"

"What do you mean? I was just repeating what I heard."

"Since when did my life matter to you?" Sara asked inquisitively.

_Since you started honing in on Grissom. _Sophia thought to herself. "It matters to the lab." She shot back quickly.

"Bullshit!" Sara shot back. "My personal life doesn't matter to the lab, what I do on my own time is my own business."

Sofia grabbed Sara and they were on the floor. There was a crash Sofia grabbed the lamp from the table and threw it at Sara. It hit her in the head knocking her out. Sofia grabbed her hair and slapped Sara across the face she then crawled on top of her and pinned her down and her hand was in the air, ready to make contact with her face when she heard something behind them.

"Alright a cat fight!" Greg chimed in. "Can we watch?"

Grissom was right behind him "What the hell is going on here? This is a crime scene."

Sofia got up off Sara. "Sorry, Grissom. She rubbed me the wrong way." Sofia snarled back crawling off the floor.

"Sofia this is the last straw. Your behavior this morning was bad, but it just got worse. Go home consider yourself on vacation for a few days. Don't think we won't talk about this."

Sofia got up and left. _This is not finished she thought as she walked out. _

"What got into them?" Greg asked picking up the lamp.

Grissom was at Sara's side. "I'm not sure Greg." He lowered his head to his lap. "Sara, sweetie, are you ok?" He asked rubbing her cheek."

Sweetie? Greg thought, what the? 

"Grissom, what happened?" She asked trying to get up. She fell back down.

"Sara, seems Sofia knocked you out with a lamp. Care to tell me what happened?"

"We were arguing," Sara began. "She grabbed me by the hair and threw me down. The next thing I knew I woke up with my head in your lap, not that I'm complaining." She was grinning.

"Greg, you wanna finish up here? I'll get Brass to stay to bring you back. I'm gonna take Sara home."

"Ok Boss. Not a problem."

Grissom told Brass what went on and loaded Sara into the truck to take her home. They went to Grissom's house. He parked the car and helped her inside. He tucked her into bed and kissed her on the forehead and crawled in beside her. He picked up the phone to call Catherine to see if she would finish his shift for him.

He dialled the number. "Hey Cath, I really hate to do this to you but can you or Warrick do me a favor please?"

"What is it Gil?" She asked.

"Sara and Sofia got into it at out crime scene. Sara got knocked out."

"Is she alright?"

"Yes, but I don't want to leave her alone, the risk of a concussion, right."

"So what do you want me to do?"

"Can you go in and finish my shift with Greg, I sent Sofia home."

"Sure Gil, but you owe me. You are just lucky Warrick is over to stay with Lindsay."

"Thanks Cath." He hung up the phone and took out a forensic magazine to read it. He tapped Sara on the shoulder. "Sara, honey, is there anything I can get for you? Do you want to go to the Doctor and get checked out?"

"Could you get me some painkillers, please, but no doctors? My head just hurts, I'll be alright tomorrow."

He got up and returned in a few minutes with the pain medication and some water. She swallowed the meds and lay back down.

"Griss, what are you going to do about Sofia?"

"I don't know. I guess I'm gonna have to ask Cath for her opinion tomorrow."

Catherine got to the lab as quick as she could and greeted Greg.

"Hey Cath, what do I owe the honor?" He asked.

"Coffee, and make it the good stuff." She choked out. "You and me need to talk."

Greg made a pot of his finest coffee and sat down in Grissom's office with Catherine.

"What the hell happened tonight?" She asked taking a sip of the liquid heaven.

"Well it all started lastnight." Greg began and continued to tell Catherine the whole story right down to the comment she had made about Ecklie.

"Something is up with that one, I don't trust her one bit." Catherine added finishing the last swallow of her coffee. "I think it is time for me to intervene."

"Whatcha gonna do?" Greg asked.

"Talk to Ecklie, that is the next step for Gil. I can push his buttons better than him." Catherine was smiling.


	6. ch 6

Shift ended and Catherine rushed home to see Lindsay off to school. She had a muffin with Lindsay, explained to her why she was just getting home from work and went to crawl in bed. She picked up her phone and dialled Grissom to see how Sara was and to tell him she would handle Ecklie for him with regards to Sofia. The news was good, Sara was ok, she had one helluva bruise, but she would be okay. Grissom assured her he was grateful for her dealing with Ecklie because his lacking social skills were sure to make the situation worse instead of better. Catherine hung up the phone and curled in to Warrick to go to sleep, her night was going to be busy.

Catherine got up early and went in to see Ecklie about the whole Sofia issue. "Conrad, something has to be done about Sofia. Gil is at his wits end. She attacked Sara at their crime scene lastnight. Is there something we should know?" Catherine asked as she looked at Ecklie.

Ecklie cleared his throat. "Catherine, Sofia has mild Schizophrenia."

Catherine's look got icy. "Does Gil know about this?"

Ecklie looked down at his desk. "Not exactly. She was doing so well. She must be off her medication again."

"What do you mean off her mediation? With a condition like that she could put someone in danger or harm them. She damn near hurt Sara."

"She didn't like her medication a while back and stopped taking it, seems it made her feel sick so she wasn't taking it. Something similar happened."

"What did you recommend then?" Catherine asked.

"Two weeks medical leave, new medication and sessions with a counsellor."

"Did it help?" She asked. He nodded. "I guess she gets that again. I'll brief Gil when he comes in so he can start the paperwork. This condition is going to have to be monitored a bit better to ensure this doesn't happen again. Is this why she had you wrapped around her thumb, because you knew she was sick?" Catherine left before he could give her an answer. She could not believe Ecklie knew about this and didn't at least tell Grissom now that Sofia was on his crew.

Catherine went home and came back in for her shift. When Grissom and Sara showed up for their shift he quickly went to meet with Catherine.

"So Gil," Catherine began. "I talked to Ecklie, seems this is not the first time this has happened with Sofia. She has a mild case of Schizophrenia."

"What? How come I didn't know this?" Grissom was shocked.

"He said he didn't tell you because it was under control."

"She could have killed Sara, that's not under control." Grissom was showing his anger.

"He said last time she did this she stopped taking her medications because they made her sick or something."

"What did he suggest?"

"Two weeks off, new medications, and a counsellor."

"That's it? That's not enough! I'm asking for a full physc evaluation for her to make sure she is fit to do this line of work. I don't want to take any chances."

"Good idea, Gil, especially in light of what happened lastnight, she's unstable. Has she been acting different lately?"

"Yes, actually she had already been warned about her behavior."

"Do you want me to call her and inform her about this?"

"Do you mind?" He tone was nearly begging.

"No. But answer me one question, what is going on with you and Sara, you did go home with her lastnight, right?"

He shot her a 'that is none of your business stare' and she turned to leave. "Thought so." She walked out.

_How does she know these things? _He asked himself. _This new information about Sofia certainly made some things from before make better sense. The jealousy, the erratic behavior it's all much clearer now._

The evidence from the night before barely got processed after the incident. Greg was all by himself, you couldn't expect too much from him alone. They did rule that Jim's death was indeed a suicide. The only prints found on the belt were his. After inspecting the evidence more from Sandy's murder, they found Jim's epithelia's on the tie used to strangle her. They figured that he murdered her in a jealous rage; strangulation is usually a lover's crime. He then couldn't deal with the guilt and killed himself. They gave the news to Mary; she was more at ease knowing the killer was dead. This one didn't get away.

Exhausted from everything that went on, Grissom and Sara went home. They put their stuff by the door, and sat on the couch to unwind before bed. Grissom put his arm around Sara and pulled her into a tight embrace.

"I love you so much." He said looking into her deep brown eyes. He loved to look at her eyes. It vaguely reminded him of the desert. He could stare at her for hours and it not bother him one bit. He leaned in and kissed her passionately.

He loved her like no other in his whole life. His hands were on her hips. He cherished this, they way she responded to him, the way she felt. He felt like she was his first lover and at this point and they experienced the joys of love only with each other. As far as he was concerned there were no others.

He lifted the hem of her shirt up and exposed the delicate lace bra beneath. She was quite buxom, not too much, just enough and he loved her that way. That paired with her flat stomach tended to draw her negative attention from men; until Grissom, he was so sweet, so sincere and special. She loved him from head to toe and then some. He loved her for her mind, not just her body.

She drew up and removed his oversized shirt. He was a well-built man but no one could tell because the clothes he wore were less than flattering. She ran her small hand along the muscles that were begging her to touch them and he growled lightly. She loved to touch and tease him he reacted like not other.

She began to kiss him pressing her still clothed breasts against his rippled chest. Within minutes they were erect and begging to be fondled. He noticed this right away and unsheathed them from their lace prison. His mouth immediately found one and suckled it gently like a child would nurse from its mother. She purred in his ear. He then gave the same attention to the other one and licked a trail down to the band on her jeans and fussed with the zipper to remove it. Beneath lay the matching panties to the bra. He could smell her arousal and it was all for him.

She massaged the rough flesh trying to get out through his baggy pants. She wanted it out and that's all there was to it. When she set her mind to something, she got it done. She didn't struggle with the zipper; she just undid the belt and pulled the baggy pants off without a problem. That was the one benefit to her man wearing such big clothes, easy access. She grinned like a robber counting his steal as she started to knead the flesh in her hands. He was very well endowed, compared to the few men she had been with.

He pressed his palm into her center and she was nearly begging him for more. He knew how she liked it and always made sure to give the lady what she wanted. He gently stroked the hard nub and she began to squirm and buck her hips making sure to get the most amount of friction.

"Ooh Griss you are so good. I love you so much." He looked into her eyes and knew she was telling him the truth.

He crouched over her and kissed her intensely taking her lips between his teeth and massaging them with his tongue. Their tongues danced for what seemed like hours when they knew it was only minutes. Time seemed to pass so slow when they were together. He tilted his hips and entered her and began to thrust. She wrapped her legs around him to increase the intensity of their experience.

"Harder, harder, come on baby harder." She urged him on and he could do nothing but oblige. A few more thrusts and she was screaming his name once again. He thrust a bit more and the warm flow covered her walls. He collapsed on top of her, exhausted. They rolled on their backs on the blanket. For the time being they forgot their surroundings they were in their own euphoria happy in the comfort of each other.


	7. End

Gil was awakened by a knock at the door. Sara rolled over to look at him as he got up.

"What's that?" She sleepily asked.

"It's the door sweetie, go back to sleep." He said as he put on his robe and walked out of the room.

He unlocked the door to see who was knocking. It was Sofia.

"You son of a bitch." She spat loudly at him. "Physc evaluation, why do you think I'm crazy Grissom?" Her tone was taunting.

"Sofia, I think you should leave." He said as he tried to shut the door.

She pushed him out of the way and walked in. "Did I wake you Grissom? Or did I interrupt something?"

Sara came rushing out of the bedroom clad only in Grissom's shirt. "What's the matter, Hun, what's with all the shouting?" Right then Sara realized what was going on.

"You bitch!" She called at Sara. "I knew there was something going on between you two. I bet you are the reason I'm being punished." She got right in her face.

"What?" Sara yelled back. "You are the one who tried to kill me, you are like some kind of phsyco."

A hand reached up and slapped Sara across the face sending her backwards. She lost her balance and fell to the floor. Sofia jumped on her and started hitting her. Grissom ran over and pulled her off of Sara and held her down."

"Sara call the cops, tell them to get here immediately." She did as she was told. Grissom restrained Sofia until they got there. The cops escorted her away for a full psychological evaluation. Grissom felt it was necessary after the night's events; Sofia was a danger to everyone, including herself.

Sara looked at Grissom after the cops escorted Sofia away. "Griss, she is nuts. She could have killed me."

"I wouldn't have let her. This is all Conrad's fault and he has the edacity to criticize my supervisory skills. He knew about this and didn't disclose it to me or anyone else. I'll make sure he gets reprimanded for this as well, Assistant Director or not." He took Sara in his arms. "How bout we go back to bed, its still early yet." Sara nodded in agreement and took his hand and led him to the bedroom.

The next night when they got to work, Grissom filed the necessary paperwork to suspend Sofia pending a full phsyc evaluation. He also put in a complaint to the Director of the lab against Ecklie for withholding pertinent information about an employee of the lab. He took it to the Director himself to ensure that something got done.

Grissom knocked on the door to Cavallo's office. "Robert, can I talk to you please?"

Cavallo nodded. "Come on in Gil, what's this about?"

Grissom took a seat in front of him. "Sofia Curtis."

"What about Sofia, Gil?"

"Were you told about her condition the schizophrenia she suffers with?"

"She has what? Why wasn't I told this? How did you find out?"

"Ecklie withheld the information from all of us, you included. She nearly killed CSI Sidle not once, but twice. She is unstable and her behaviour lately has been less than questionable."

"Did you speak to her about this, Gil."

"Yes, as her supervisor I gave her a verbal warning." Cavallo was nodding. "I have the paperwork requesting a full evaluation for Sofia Curtis in my hand. I had to have her escorted from my house this morning, she nearly killed Sara." Cavallo noted what he had just said and kept it to himself for a few more minutes until he was done speaking. "I also want Conrad Ecklie reprimanded for doing this, it is all his fault, this whole mess could have been prevented."

"Gil, would you want the job of Assistant Director?" Cavallo asked.

"Robert, you know as well as I do that I'm not cut out for that. As far as I'm concerned your best bet right now would be Catherine Willows."

Cavallo wrote down what he had just said and thought about Grissom's comments from earlier. "Gil, is there something going on between you and Sara Sidle?"

Grissom was quiet for a minute and looked up at Cavallo. "Yes, we are dating. It's only been a short while and we didn't want to go public quite yet. Actually, other than Catherine, who figured it out on her own, Sir you are the first to know."

"Is this going to interfere with your jobs?" He asked already knowing the answer. Grissom was a professional and so was Sara, he knew they wouldn't let this jeopardise their careers.

"No. We are both professionals. Besides, there is no rule against it, I already looked into it." Grissom was smiling.

"I hope she makes you happy Gil."

"More than you know." He stood up and walked out of the office.

Ecklie was made to apologize to both Sara and Grissom in writing and was demoted from his current position. He was made to take swing shift supervisor. The Assistant Director job was given to Catherine. Sofia Curtis was ruled mentally incompetent and put in a mental hospital to help her to cope with her problems. Sara and Grissom's relationship came out and everyone was happy for them.

The End.


End file.
